Man hit, choked wife when she wouldn’t unlock her phone at Myrtle Beach home, police say
A man hit and strangled his wife when she wouldn’t unlock her phone so he could see who she was talking to, according to a Myrtle Beach police report.
Officers responded to Maragarita Drive late Saturday night for the report of an assault between a married couple that has a child in common. The victim said she and the suspect — 47-year-old Dennis Wilbert Rager — got into an argument because he wanted to go through her phone, the report states. The victim told Rager she was trying to FaceTime one of her friends, but he didn’t believe her and thought it was someone else, police say.
After Rager took the phone, he attempted to get in bed with her so she could unlock the phone. When she refused, according to the report, he hit her in the face twice — she wasn’t sure if they were slaps or punches — before choking her to where she could barely breathe. The woman said she was screaming for help and bit Rager in order to get him off her during the assault.
When the victim got up to leave the room, Rager chased her down the building’s stairs, causing her stumble down, the report states. Police reported the woman had a cut on her left big toe and left knee from the stumble, had a knot on her forehead, scratches on her face and welt marks on her neck.
The victim told police she went to a friend’s house to get away from her husband.
Police requested a domestic violence warrant for Rager, though there were no online records showing he’d been arrested as of Sunday afternoon.
